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Poster | Opening Pathways into Engineering Through an Illinois Physics and Secondary Schools Partnership
Illinois Physics and Secondary Schools (IPaSS) is a partnership between the University of Illinois Physics Department and 40 high school physics teachers representing 38 schools across Illinois. The holistic goal of the program is to develop a physics teaching Community of Practice that supports high school physics teachers from diverse school contexts in the design and implementation of high-…
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Poster | Online Practice Suite: Practice Spaces, Simulations and Virtual Reality Environments for Preservice Teachers to Learn to Facilitate Argumentation Discussions in Math and Science
This project uses design-based research to develop, pilot, and refine a set of complementary online activities for preservice teachers to engage in approximations of practice to develop their ability to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions in mathematics and science. The effort has produced an integrated online practice suite (OPS) containing a coordinated and scaffolded collection of…
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Poster | Modeling Assessment to Enhance Teaching and Learning (Collaborative Research: Lehrer)
This project modifies an assessment system to provide ongoing, instructionally productive evidence to teachers about student learning and to link student work products and formative assessments with summative assessments in models that generate useful estimates of student growth. In this iteration, the assessment system is refined as we with K-5 teachers in two schools to develop a learning…
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Poster | Middle School Students Graphing From the Ground Up (Collaborative Research: Paoletti)
In MS-GGU, we attend to middle-school students’ understandings of coordinate systems and frames of reference prior to examining their graph construction and interpretation. The project goals are to advance knowledge of students’ developing understandings of graphs “from the ground up” with attention to underlying coordinate systems and frames of reference that comprise the coordinate systems and…
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Poster | Measuring the Effectiveness of Middle School STEM-Innovation and Engineering Design Curricula
This DRK-12 Impact Study project investigates the effectiveness of STEM-Innovation and Design (STEM-ID) curricula in approximately 29 middle schools, targeting 29 engineering teachers and approximately 5,000 students across middle grades in Georgia. This 3-year middle school Engineering and Technology course sequence was developed and implemented as part of the AMP-IT-UP (#1238089) Math/Science…
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Poster | Measuring Early Mathematical Reasoning Skills: Developing Tests of Numeric Relational Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning
The primary aim of the MMaRS study is to develop a mathematics assessment system to use for grades K-2 that measure students’ abilities in two foundational and predictive constructs, numeric relational reasoning (NRR) and spatial reasoning (SR). Teachers may use results of these assessments to guide their instructional decision making to support student learning of these constructs. The…
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Poster | Managing Uncertainty for Productive Struggle: Exploring Teacher Development for Managing Students' Epistemic Uncertainty as a Pedagogical Resource in Project-based Learning
The project explores teachers' capacity to manage student uncertainty as a pedagogical resource that supports student’s productive struggle and the development of conceptual knowledge during project-based learning (PBL) instruction in middle school science classrooms. This project explores how teachers' instructional practices change over time with repeated use of epistemic uncertainty as a…
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Poster | Locally Adaptable Instructional Materials and Professional Learning Design for Place-based Elementary Science
This project investigates how to design instructional resources and professional learning that support teachers in making adaptations to phenomena in science units. A design-based research approach is used to 1) iteratively design, test, and revise locally adaptable instructional resources for elementary science; 2) examine how teachers adapt phenomena in their teaching; and 3) examine how…
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Poster | Learning Progressions in Science: Analyzing and Deconstructing the Multiple Dimensions in Assessment
We propose to address a Science & Engineering Practice (e.g., scientific argumentation), a Crosscutting concept (e.g. patterns), and Disciplinary Core Ideas in each of the following foundational middle school science domains - physical science, life science, and Earth science. This study builds upon existing work around argumentation, physical science, and life science.
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Poster | Learning about Viral Epidemics through Engagement with Different Types of Models
This project explores students learning about viral epidemics while engaging in scientific modeling. Given the multi-dimensional nature of complex issues, using different types of models is critical for robust learning about issues like pandemics. We focus on how learners coordinate sense-making across different models. Project goals include: 1) Promote learning about viral epidemics through…
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Poster | Investigating Impact of Different Types of Professional Development on What Aspects Mathematics Teachers Take Up and Use in Their Classroom
The Taking a Deep Dive (TaDD) study examines the residual impacts of four different professional development models on teacher learning, specifically 3-4 years after the actual PD experiences. The project is conducting a rigorous cross case analysis across participants from the different projects. Additionally, a survey was given to participants in May 2019 which was 3-4 years after their PD…
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Poster | Internet of Things Pedagogical Ecosystem for Integrated Computer Science and Software Engineering Education for Grades 9-12
This project is developing the first Internet of Things based pedagogical ecosystem for 9-12 CS and STEM classes. This project has focused on identifying critical elements for effective instructional design for CS and SE education by understanding student and teacher motivation. A key innovation of this effort has been the low-cost, IoT-hardware kits for project-based learning to create a hands-…
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Poster | Incorporating Professional Science Writing into High School STEM Research Projects
The Journal of Emerging Investigators provides middle and high school students an opportunity to participate in a peer review and publication of their original manuscript.
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Poster | Improving the Teaching of Genetics in High School to Avoid Instilling Misconceptions About Gender Differences (Collaborative Research: Donovan)
This project will study the aspects of genetics instruction that affect students' beliefs in gender essentialism, which is implicated in lowering girls' sense of STEM abilities, feeling of belonging in STEM classes, and interest in pursuing further education in STEM fields. The goal of the project is to answer important questions about how to teach genetics at the high school level in a manner…
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Poster | Improving the Implementation of Rigorous Instructional Materials in Middle-Grades Mathematics: Developing a System of Practical Measures and Routines (Collaborative Research: Jackson, Ing)
This project developed a system of practical measures, and associated routines and data visualizations, to support the implementation of instructional improvement strategies (e.g., coaching) in middle-grades mathematics teaching. Classroom and professional learning measures assess students’ and teachers’ perspectives of key aspects of the learning environment, respectively. We will highlight the…
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Poster | Improving Grades 6-8 Students' Mathematics Achievement in Modeling and Problem Solving Through Effective Sequencing of Instructional Practices
The Researching Order of Teaching project provides structured scaffolds for teachers to implement two sets of research-based teaching strategies hypothesized to positively impact mathematics achievement in mathematical modeling and problem solving. The poster summarizes the teaching strategies and associated research.
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Poster | Implementation and Efficacy Study of Preschool Math Activities for Numeracy
The aim of this project is to develop and test the efficacy of a play-based numeracy intervention for preschool classrooms. Classrooms were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions (representing different pedagogical guidance approaches) and a business-as-usual control condition. Teachers in experimental classrooms were trained to incorporate a set of numeracy games. The intervention was…
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Poster | How Deep Structural Modeling Supports Learning with Big Ideas in Biology
The Deep Structure Modeling (DSM) project addresses the pressing need to more effectively organize science teaching and learning around “big ideas” that run through disciplines. The project focus on developing knowledge around how centering science instruction on big ideas can position students in epistemically meaningful scientific evaluation, through synthesizing big ideas from phenomena and…
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Poster | GeoHazard: Modeling Natural Hazards and Assessing Risks
The rock cycle is rarely taught in conjunction with plate tectonics. The method of studying images of rock outcrops is not enough to explain how rocks are formed and transformed over time. This project has developed a simulation for students to investigate the formation and evolution of rock sequences created under specific tectonic conditions. By bridging the tectonic system and the rock genesis…
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Poster | Fostering Computational Thinking Through Neural Engineering Activities in High School Biology Classes
Computational thinking (CT) is critical in all STEM fields, but it is typically not integrated in STEM courses beyond computer science. To address this gap, our project team is developing a month-long CT-intensive biology unit, where students learn to program a robotic gripper to respond to changes in their electrical muscle activity. This provides a novel, interdisciplinary, and real-world…
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Poster | Facilitating Teacher Learning with Video Clips of Instruction in Science
The project aims to build foundational knowledge about teacher learning to notice teaching and student thinking in new ways by using video clips of science instruction within a professional development context. Professional development is centered around the analysis of video clips depicting the implementation of three-dimensional performance assessments in science classrooms, and draws on…
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Poster | Extending and Investigating the Impact of the High School Model-based Educational Resource (Collaborative Research: Wilson)
This project examines the efficacy of the Model-Based Educational Resource (MBER) for high-school biology teachers and students. Previous work on MBER has found that the materials support teachers in providing opportunities for engaging student sensemaking and modeling, are feasible to implement in diverse classroom contexts, and show promise of efficacy in increasing student achievement. With…
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Poster | Extending and Investigating the Impact of the High School Model-based Educational Resource (Collaborative Research: Passmore)
This project examines the efficacy of the Model-Based Educational Resource (MBER) for high-school biology teachers and students. Previous work on MBER has found that the materials support teachers in providing opportunities for engaging student sensemaking and modeling, are feasible to implement in diverse classroom contexts, and show promise of efficacy in increasing student achievement. With…
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Poster | Exploring K-2 Children Understandings of Visual Representations in Algebraic Reasoning
This project explores how children in grades K-2 understand visual representations of algebraic concepts. For instance, children create tables or graphs to organize information about the relationship between two quantities. They might use graphs and diagrams to explain their mathematical thinking and develop their understanding of relationships in numbers and operations. The project uses data…
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Poster | Exploring Early Childhood Teachers’ Abilities to Identify Computational Thinking Precursors to Strengthen Computer Science in Classrooms
EPK-2 is designing and testing a model of PreK-2nd grade teacher professional learning to address computational thinking. The focus is teachers’ generative development in CT as informed by collaborative, inquiry-based learning. The goal is to help teachers and schools build computational thinking pathways beginning with students’ earliest years. Research questions explore factors mediating PreK-…
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Poster | Exploring Changes in Teachers' Engineering Design Self-efficacy and Practice Through Collaborative and Culturally Relevant Professional Development
Project ExCEED is a three-year project to help upper elementary and middle school teachers create and implement engineering design tasks in their classrooms that are relevant to the cultures and communities of their Native American and rural student populations. The interdisciplinary research team is studying the effectiveness of the professional development program at increasing teachers’…
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Poster | Examining an On-line, International Exchange Professional Development Program for High School Teachers
This project explores the potential of lesson-centered collaboration on lessons for supporting teachers’ professional growth. Specifically, the project examines how the exchange between both domestic and international teams of teachers centered on teacher-generated lesson artifacts—in the form of storyboarded lessons and annotations of those lessons—can serve as a powerful tool for supporting…
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Poster | Evaluating Effects of Automatic Feedback Aligned to a Learning Progression to Promote Knowledge-In-Use
This project builds on existing work on three-dimensional learning progressions in high school physical sciences to develop an artificial intelligence supported scoring system for student text and models. These tools will be used to support learning of electrical forces in an integrated curriculum with real-time feedback on formative assessment items. We report on early attempts to design coding…
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Poster | Enhancing the Teacher-Curriculum Relationship in Problem-based Mathematics Classrooms by Connecting Teacher and Student Digital Collaborative Environments
The project is extending a digital collaborative platform for networks of teachers to create, use, and share resources for planning, teaching, and reflecting. The resources online include problem-based curriculum, classroom artifacts from students, and resources created by teachers. We report on how teachers use the resources, collaborate with each other, and make instructional decisions. With…
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Poster | Engineering for Students with Extensive Support Needs
This project involves four strands of work: (a) investigating teachers’ engineering instruction, (b) developing a framework of conceptual understanding of engineering education for students with ESN, (c) conducting research to support universally designed engineering instruction and materials, and (d) producing and disseminating the instructional support framework and materials. Insights from…
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